On Friday evening, Chicago guitarist George Freeman will step into the spotlight at Winter’s Jazz Club to remind listeners that there’s life — and music — after 90.

“I’m only 91,” says Freeman, who apparently considers himself notably younger than Bennett. “He’s 92. I gotta’ catch up with him.

“He’s making so much money, he can’t spend it all.”

True, Freeman may not be precisely in the eminent singer’s tax bracket. But the verve, joy and musicianship of the guitarist’s work share a great deal with Bennett’s. Both summon extraordinary energy and commitment in performance, and neither shows any signs of slowing down.

Bennett recently told me that part of his staying power owes to the basic scales and vocal patterns he rehearses daily.

“I practice every day,” explains the guitarist, who will share the spotlight at Winter’s with guitarist Mike Allemana, pianist Pete Benson and drummer Mike Schlick.

“I practice on (jazz) standards, so my fingering will be strong. I practice on chords and on melody. … Just keep yourself going, keep your fingers up, because that’s so important.

“I was thankful I was able to change (guitar) picks over the years. Way back, I was playing with a hard pick. No way I could use that now.”

So Freeman, like Bennett, has made certain accommodations to address the vicissitudes of age. Yet the art that each produces somehow shows few concessions to the passing decades.

“He’s doing really well,” says guitarist Allemana, who has played a key role in bringing public attention back to Freeman during the past several years, including via their album “Live at the Green Mill.”

That’s critical for Allemana and for music history, because Allemana is in the midst of penning his doctoral dissertation on the Freeman jazz dynasty; that includes the late tenor saxophonist Von Freeman, George Freemans’ brother, with whom Allemana performed for years.

“The centerpiece is really Von Freeman and then also George Freeman, and George and my relationship over the years — how it has developed,” says Allemana.

“It will be about Von and George’s life stories. Very personal on George. And everybody who knew Von, what they say about Von.

“It’s kind of a collective memory, and a personal memory about George.

“It’s also an activist project in terms of documenting neglected histories — people, places and music that haven’t been touched on in history books,” continues Allemana. “I’m doing oral histories of jazz clubs from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, as well as people’s experiences at the New Apartment Lounge with Von Freeman. … Also the sense of Von Freeman’s impact locally and outside of Chicago.”

Surely this is one dissertation that could have subsequent life as a book, shedding light not only the Freeman family but on a Chicago jazz scene long admired around the world.

As for George Freeman, he’s planning on releasing a new recording early next year, titling it “The Bomb,” a reference not only the name of a Freeman composition but his rather explosive effect in concert.

“Everybody is excited about it — it has very different instrumentation,” says Freeman. “Harmonica, and somebody playing accordion.

“And only one standard out of the whole 11 tunes!”

The rest, presumably, will be originals and/or obscurities from a musician still clearly searching for new sounds.

Zenon and Spektral

Two years ago, saxophonist and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenon collaborated with Chicago’s Spektral Quartet at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival for the world premiere of “Yo Soy La Tradicion,” an ingeniously crafted, eight-movement suite that erased distinctions among classical, jazz and Puerto Rican folkloric music.

Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the piece synthesized these musical languages into a compelling whole, Zenon’s score conveying rhythmic propulsion without relying on a traditional jazz rhythm section.